Tony Gordon
Tony Gordon was a villainous factory worker who was responsible for masterminding the murder of Liam Connor. He was also married to Carla Connor and was in a relationship with Liam's widowed wife Maria. Tony was eventually locked up for his deeds, but broke out of prison in a storyline dubbed "Siege Week" in which he burned down Underworld and met his demise. He was played by Scottish actor Gray O'Brien. Biography Background Anthony Gordon was born in 1971 to his parents Mr and Mrs. Gordon. When Tony's father suffered from a heart attack Tony allowed him to die, feeling that his mother was better off without. 2007–2010 Tony Gordon arrived in Coronation Street in September 2007. He was the owner of a clothing firm known as Gordon's Catalogues, who offered Carla Connor a contract. Tony gave a contract to Underworld, the factory. He planned to expand his business and offered to sell Rita Sullivan out of The Kabin and Kevin Webster to sell his garage so he could demolish them and expand the factory. Kevin refused to sell so Tony enlisted Jimmy Dockerson to sabotage Kevin's business. Tony's darker side started to emerge. In August 2008, he had a plan to demolish several Victorian terrace houses nearby to Coronation Street. One of them was Nightingale Terrace, of which a former Coronation Street resident, Jed Stone lived at one of the houses, No 23. Jed Stone rebelled against Tony so Tony and his henchmen menaced Jed out of his home. Jed had a heart attack and Tony left him for dead but Jason Grimshaw arrived. Tony said Jed was going to sign the eviction papers but then had a heart attack. In hospital, Tony had harsh words with Jed. Later on Jed accepted more money from Tony. Having found out that Carla was having an affair with her brother in law Liam Connor, Tony plotted a calculating scheme which involved murdering Liam as he feared Carla would get with him. Tony asked a reluctant Liam to be his best man at his wedding to Carla, lying that he had a falling out with his brother Pat. Liam accepted the offer. On the stag night, Tony hired Jimmy to run Liam over and make the death look like a simple hit and run and accident rather than a murder. Liam died in Tony's arms, where Tony quietly gloated to Liam about his victory. Carla was devastated by the death and took a break, while Liam's widow Maria grieved as she discovered she was pregnant. Tony feigned concern and support for Maria over the loss of Liam, but was angry that Liam still seemed to dominate and dictate his life beyond the grave, and despite his efforts Carla ended up leaving. However after a short break Carla returned and agreed to marry Tony. But things wouldn't go smoothly for Tony. Jed Stone returned and moved in with Emily Bishop (who he had known back in the 1960s) and made trouble for Tony and made clear he wanted compensation for his eviction and loss of his cat. Before the wedding Tony's brother Pat arrived, despite the fact they were "meant" to be on bad terms, which caused suspicion. It also became clear to Pat that Tony was not a popular man on the street, as Kevin Webster bad mouthed him about the whole deal with trying to close down his garage and Jed continued bothering Tony. On the wedding day Tony successfully married Carla and went away on a honeymoon with her. But Maria found out about Carla's affair with Liam as Sally Webster (out of spite for Carla mocking her family) showed her footage of Liam and Carla kissing. Maria attempted to stop Carla leaving, but it was too late as she and Tony drove off into the night. When Maria discovered that Tony knew about the affair, she began to (rightfully) believe Tony was responsible for Liam's death. When Tony returned Maria launched a campaign against him and tried to convince others he was a murderer. Frustrated, Tony went to visit Maria and tried to bribe her with money, before plotting to strangle her. This was interrupted however by Fiz's arrival, and Tony put Maria's erratic behaviour down to her grieving. The only person to believe Maria was Jed himself, who informed her on how Tony harassed him for weeks and caused his stroke and was close to leaving him for dead. Jed continued to bother Tony for money. When Tony went to meet Jimmy in an alleyway at night, Jed spotted the pair of them and flashed a torch at them. When Jimmy realised Jed knew they were in cahoots, he warned Tony not to contact him again. On Christmas Eve Jed turned up at the factory, hoping to finally get a bigger payment and a house so he could finally get out from under Emily's feet. Fed up with Jed's constant demands, Tony made clear he wouldn't be getting anymore money and mocked him, referring to him as a drunken old fool. But during this heated exchange Tony slipped up and named Jimmy, and only caused further suspicion to Jed that Tony murdered Liam. Angry at Tony for mocking him, Jed threatened to destroy Tony, which caused an angry Tony to strangle Jed and cause him to pass out. Believing he has killed Jed, Tony stashed his body inside a Christmas hamper in the factory and decorated it and finished up preparing the place for the staff arriving for the Christmas party. After they left the party, Tony planned to dispose of the body but ended up leaving with Carla. The following day, Tony returned the factory, having made an excuse to Carla that one of his properties had been broken into and he needs to speak to the police. He prepares to dispose of Jed's body, only to find him still alive. A relieved Tony offers Jed an ultimatum, either Tony will finish what he has started, or instead he will give Jed one of his empty properties and money to start a new life elsewhere. Unsurprisingly, Jed agrees with the latter, and Tony gets his belongings and moves him to Wigan. Tony then continues to live through with his life up until Carla eventually discovers his crimes, and he ends up getting arrested. A year later, Tony escapes Weatherfield with help from his cellmate Robbie Solane - whom he later kills over a disagreement with his payment. In June 2010 Tony finally meets his demise when he holds Hayley Cropper and Carla Connor hostage. Carla shoots him and escapes so Tony decides to deliberately barbecue himself by walking into the flames. The factory explodes, killing an already frazzled Tony. His reign of terror is over. Background Information *Originally the character's storyline was going to draw to a close in late 2009 when he was arrested for Liam Connor's murder, however producers managed to convince Gray O'Brien to make a brief return in 2010 as part of the conclusion after he finished appearing in a pantomime. Trivia *Tony was referenced to in January 2014 by Hayley Cropper, who said she counted herself lucky every day since nearly meeting her demise at his hands. Gallery Tony gordon first appearance.png|Tony's first appearance (September 2007) Tony strangles Jed.png|Tony strangles Jed Stone (Christmas Eve 2008) Tony Gordon with a gun.png|Tony contemplates killing Roy Cropper (November 2009) Tony and Carla Hostage situation.jpg|Tony holds Carla hostage (June 2010) Memorable Information Appearances: 16 September 2007–11 December 2009, 28 May–9 June 2010 Birth: 1971 Death: 1 June 2010 (Age 38–39) Parents: Mrs. Gordon and Mr. Gordon (deceased) Siblings: Pat Gordon Grandfathers: Mr Gordon (Tony Gordon's Grandfather) Spouses: Lindsey Gordon (1998–2007), Carla Connor (2008–2010) Uncles: Robert Gordon Category:Deceased characters Category:Characters first seen in 2007. Category:Characters last seen in 2010. Category:Past characters. Category:Coronation Street Characters. Category:Coronation Street businessmen. Category:Coronation Street bad boys. Category:Gordon family Category:1971 Births Category:1998 Marriages Category:2008 Marriages Category:2010 deaths. Category:Murderers Category:Villains. Category:People From Scotland Category:2000s characters Category:2010s characters